Method and apparatus for communicating user data via a physical shared channel

ABSTRACT

A downlink signal in a PDCCH search space can be received. A PDCCH candidate according to a DCI format can be decoded based on the received downlink signal. DCI of the DCI format can dynamically indicate a transmission mode of a plurality of transmission modes. The plurality of transmission modes can include at least transmission of multiple associated physical shared channels and non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel. A transmission mode can be determined from the decoded PDCCH candidate. User data can be communicated via at least one physical shared channel according to the determined transmission mode.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure is directed to a method and appa ratus forcommunicating user data via a physical shared channel. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure is directed to communicating userdata via a physical shared channel according to a determinedtransmission mode.

2. Introduction

Presently, wireless communication devices, such as User Equipment (UE),communicate with other communication devices using wireless signals. InThird Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 15 (Rel-15) NewRadio (NR), basic support for Ultra-Reliable and Low-LatencyCommunication (URLLC) was introduced with Transmission Time Interval(TTI) structures for low latency as well as methods for improvedreliability. Further, the Rel-15 NR includes various Multiple InputMultiple Output (MIMO) features that facilitate utilization of a largenumber of antenna elements at a network entity, such as a gNodeB, aTransmission Reception Point (TRP), or other network entity and/or at aUE, taking into account deployment scenarios of multi-panel arrays andhybrid analog-digital beamforming for high frequency bands, such asover-6GHz frequency bands. However, the Rel-15 NR MIMO only accommodatesstandard-transparent, limited multi-TRP, and/or multi-panel operationand provides basic support of beam management and beam failure recovery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which advantages and features of thedisclosure can be obtained, a description of the disclosure is renderedby reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated inthe appended drawings. These drawings depict only example embodiments ofthe disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting ofits scope. The drawings may have been simplified for clarity and are notnecessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of a system according to a possibleembodiment;

FIG. 2 is an example flowchart illustrating the operation of anapparatus according to a possible embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an example flowchart illustrating the operation of anapparatus according to a possible embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is an example block diagram of an apparatus according to apossible embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments provide a method and apparatus for communicating user datavia a physical shared channel according to a determined transmissionmode. At least some embodiments can provide methods to enhancecommunication reliability with MIMO. According to a possible embodiment,information of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) search spacecan be received. The PDCCH search space can be associated with aDownlink Control Information (DCI) format. DCI of the DCI format candynamically indicate a transmission mode of a plurality of transmissionmodes. The plurality of transmission modes can include transmission ofmultiple associated physical shared channels, non-coherent jointtransmission in a physical shared channel, and/or other transmissionmodes. A downlink signal can be received at a monitoring occasion of thePDCCH search space. A PDCCH candidate can be decoded according to theDCI format by using the received downlink signal. A transmission modecan be determined from the decoded PDCCH candidate. User data can becommunicated via at least one physical shared channel according to thedetermined transmission mode.

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of a system 100 according to apossible embodiment. The system 100 can include a UE 110, at least onenetwork entity 120 and 125, and a network 130. The UE 110 can be awireless wide area network device, a user device, a wireless terminal, aportable wireless communication device, a smartphone, a cellulartelephone, a flip phone, a personal digital assistant, a smartwatch, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a personal computer, a selectivecall receiver, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or any other userdevice that is capable of sending and receiving communication signals ona wireless network. The at least one network entity 120 and 125 can be awireless wide area network base station, can be a NodeB, can be anenhanced NodeB (eNB), can be a New Radio NodeB (gNB), such as a 5GNodeB, can be an unlicensed network base station, can be an accesspoint, can be a base station controller, can be a network controller,can be a TRP, can be a different type of network entity from the othernetwork entity, and/or can be any other network entity that can providewireless access between a UE and a network.

The network 130 can include any type of network that is capable ofsending and receiving wireless communication signals. For example, thenetwork 130 can include a wireless communication network, a cellulartelephone network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)-based network,a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)-based network, an OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)-based network, a Long TermEvolution (LTE) network, a NR network, a 3GPP-based network, a satellitecommunications network, a high altitude platform network, the Internet,and/or other communications networks.

In operation, the UE 110 can communicate with the network 130 via atleast one network entity 120. For example, the UE can send and receivecontrol signals on a control channel and user data signals on a datachannel.

In Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications, some factoryenvironments may suffer from high blocking and/or penetration loss, e.g.due to heavy metal machines and special production settings, anddeployment of multi-TRPs and support of low-latency, low-overhead, androbust beam management and recovery can be beneficial to overcomecoverage holes and enhance communication reliability. At least someembodiments can provide for operation of the multi-TRPs support oflow-latency, low-overhead, and robust beam management and recovery. Atleast some embodiments can also provide methods of enhanced DownlinkControl Information (DCI) signaling for efficient support ofnon-coherent joint transmission of Physical Uplink Shared Channel(PUSCH) and uplink Transport Block (TB) duplication with multipleassociated PUSCHs carrying a same TB.

To improve Downlink (DL) communication reliability, a UE can receive anindication of one or more associated search spaces, where one or morePDCCHs decoded in associated monitoring occasions of the one or moreassociated search spaces can schedule one or more PDSCHs carrying a sameTB, respectively. While multiple PDSCHs carrying the same TB canincrease the reliability for demodulation and decoding, an average DCIsignaling overhead for successful delivery of one TB may increase due tomultiple PDCCH transmissions for one TB in each Hybrid Automatic RepeatreQuest (HARD) (re)-transmission stage.

At least some embodiments can reduce DCI signaling overhead bytransmitting scheduling information common to multiple associated PUSCHs(or PDSCHs) only in one PDCCH or in a number of PDCCHs that can besmaller than a number of associated PUSCHs (or PDSCHs) at each HARQ(re)-transmission stage. Furthermore, as the proposed DCI formats cansupport various transmission modes, such as TB duplication via multipleassociated PUSCHs (or PDSCHs), non-coherent joint transmission of PUSCH(or PDSCHs), and PUSCH transmission to (or PDSCH reception from) asingle TRP, a network entity can flexibly select different transmissionmodes without increasing the number of PDCCH blind decoding at a UE.

According to 3GPP TS 38.214, two transmission schemes, codebook-basedtransmission and non-codebook based transmission, are supported forPUSCH. For PUSCH transmission(s) dynamically scheduled by an Uplink (UL)grant in a DCI, a UE can, upon detection of a PDCCH with a configuredDCI format 0_0 or 0_1, transmit the corresponding PUSCH as indicated bythat DCI.

For PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_0 on a cell, the UE can transmitPUSCH according to the spatial relation, if applicable, corresponding tothe Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource with the lowest IDwithin the active UL Bandwidth Part (BWP) of the cell, and the PUSCHtransmission can be based on a single antenna port. A spatial settingfor a PUCCH transmission can be provided by higher layer parameterPUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo if the UE is configured with a single valuefor higher layer parameterpucch-SpatialRelationInfoId; otherwise, if theUE is provided multiple values for higher layer parameterPUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo, the UE can determine a spatial setting forthe PUCCH transmission based on a received PUCCH spatial relationactivation/deactivation Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element(CE), as described in 3GPP TS 38.321. The UE can apply a correspondingsetting for a spatial domain filter to transmit PUCCH 3 msec after theslot where the UE transmits HARQ-ACK information with an ACK valuecorresponding to a PDSCH reception providing thePUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo.

For codebook-based transmission, PUSCH can be scheduled by DCI format0_0 or DCI format 0_1. If PUSCH is scheduled by DCI format 0_1, the UEcan determine its PUSCH transmission precoder based on Service RequestIndicator (SRI), Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI), and thetransmission rank from the DCI, given by DCI fields of SoundingReference Signal (SRS) resource indicator and precoding information andnumber of layers in subclause 7.3.1.1.2 of 3GPP TS 38.212. The TPMI canbe used to indicate the precoder to be applied over the antenna ports {0. . . v−1} and that corresponds to the SRS resource selected by the SRI,unless a single SRS resource is configured for a single SRS-ResourceSetset to ‘codebook’. The transmission precoder can be selected from theuplink codebook that has a number of antenna ports equal to higher layerparameter nrofSRS-Ports in SRS-Config, as defined in Subclause 6.3.1.5of 3GPP TS 38.211. When the UE is configured with the higher layerparameter txConfig set to ‘codebook’, the UE can be configured with atleast one SRS resource. The indicated SRI in slot n can be associatedwith the most recent transmission of SRS resource identified by the SRI,where the SRS resource can be prior to the PDCCH carrying the SRI beforeslot n. The UE can determine its codebook subsets based on TPMI and uponthe reception of higher layer parameter codebookSubset in PUSCH-Config,which can be configured with ‘fullyAndPartialAndNonCoherent’, or‘partialAndNonCoherent’, or ‘nonCoherent’ depending on the UEcapability. The maximum transmission rank can be configured by thehigher parameter maxRank in PUSCH-Config.

For non-codebook-based transmission, PUSCH can be scheduled by DCIformat 0_0 or DCI format 0_1. The UE can determine its PUSCH precoderand transmission rank based on the wideband SRI when multiple SRSresources are configured in a SRS resource set with higher layerparameter usage in SRS-ResourceSet set to ‘nonCodebook’, where the SRIcan be given by the SRS resource indicator in DCI format 0_1 accordingto subclause 7.3.1.1.2 of 3GPP TS 38.212 and only one SRS port can beconfigured for each SRS resource. The indicated SRI in slot n can beassociated with the most recent transmission of SRS resource(s)identified by the SRI, where the SRS transmission can be prior to thePDCCH carrying the SRI before slot n.

The UE can perform one-to-one mapping from the indicated SRI(s) to theindicated Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) ports(s) given by DCIformat 0_1 in increasing order.

At least some embodiments can provide DCI scheduling multiple associatedPUSCHs (or PDSCHs) or non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH (orPDSCH). For example, in each HARQ (re)-transmission stage, a UE canreceive scheduling information of multiple associated PUSCH (or PDSCH)and can transmit the associated multiple PUSCHs (or receive theassociated multiple PDSCHs), each of which can carry a same TB but canbe potentially intended to (or coming from) different network nodes,e.g. TRPs, of a cell, in order to ensure reliable uplink (or downlink)TB delivery. In one example, the UE can be higher-layer configured witha number of associated PUSCHs (or PDSCHs) for a TB. In another example,the UE can be higher-layer configured with a maximum allowed number ofassociated PUSCHs (or PDSCHs) for a TB and can receive a dynamicindication of a number of associated PUSCHs (or PDSCHs) for a given TBas DCI in a PDCCH.

According to a possible embodiment, one PDCCH can schedule multipleassociated PUSCHs (or PDSCHs) that carry a same TB with a same HARQprocess number but with different time- and frequency-resourceallocations. A network entity, such as a gNodeB, can transmit at leastone UL grant for a UE's re-transmission of the TB, if the network entitywas not able to correctly decode any PUSCH of the scheduled, associatedmultiple PUSCHs carrying the same TB. Similarly, the network entity cantransmit a DL assignment(s) for re-transmission of the TB, if thenetwork entity did not receive HARQ-ACK feedback indicating anacknowledgement (ACK) in any of PUCCH resources which are supposed toinclude HARQ-ACK feedback of the multiple associated PDSCHs. The networkentity can indicate one PUCCH resource, for HARQ-ACK feedbackcorresponding to the multiple associated PDSCHs, that satisfies UEprocessing timeline requirements even for the last arriving PDSCH amongthe multiple associated PDSCHs. Alternatively, the network entity canindicate multiple PUCCH resources, each of which can be associated witheach of the multiple associated PDSCHs, and the UE can transmit HARQ-ACKfeedback on at least one indicated PUCCH resource.

According to a possible implementation, new DCI formats, for example,DCI format 0_0A and DCI format 0_1A (or DCI format 0_0A and DCI format1_1A), that are different from Rel-15 NR DCI format 0_0 or DCI format0_1 (or DCI format 1_0 and DCI format 1_1), can be defined forscheduling multiple associated PUSCHs (or PDSCHs) carrying a same TB. Inone example, the new DCI formats to schedule multiple associated PUSCHs(or PDSCHs) can have multiple frequency domain resource assignmentfields and multiple time domain resource assignment fields. In anotherexample, the new DCI formats can have multiple frequency domain resourceassignment fields but a single time domain resource assignment field. Inyet another example, the new DCI formats can have a single frequencydomain resource assignment field, but multiple time domain resourceassignment fields. In other examples, the new DCI formats can have afixed number larger than 1 of time domain resource assignment fields andfrequency domain resource assignment fields corresponding to thehigher-layer configured maximum supported number of associated PUSCHs orPDSCHs, and the actually used time domain- and frequency domain resourceassignment fields can be determined based on the dynamically indicatednumber of associated PUSCHs or PDSCHs for a given TB. The remaining timedomain- and frequency domain resource assignment fields can be reserved.

According to another possible implementation, the new DCI formats, e.g.DCI format 0_0A and DCI format 0_1A (or DCI format 0_0A and DCI format0_1A), can be defined to support both non-coherent joint transmission inone PUSCH (or PDSCH) and scheduling of multiple associated PUSCHs (orPDSCHs). In one example of non-coherent joint uplink transmission, a UEcan transmit multiple codewords, such as at least two codewords, in onePUSCH, where each subset of the multiple codewords can be independentlybeamformed or precoded, potentially transmitted with a different UEantenna panel, and potentially intended to a different network node,such as a TRP, or different antenna panel of a network node. In anotherexample of non-coherent joint uplink transmission, the UE can transmitmultiple spatial layers in one PUSCH, where each subset of the multiplespatial layers can be independently beamformed or precoded from othersubsets of the multiple spatial layers, potentially transmitted with adifferent UE antenna panel, and potentially intended to a differentnetwork node or different antenna panel of a network node. Similarly, innon-coherent joint downlink transmission, the UE can receive multiple,such as at least two, codewords or multiple spatial layers in one PDSCH,where each subset of the multiple codewords or each subset of themultiple spatial layers can be independently beamformed or precoded,potentially transmitted from a different network node or differentantenna panel of a network node, and potentially received with adifferent UE antenna panel.

In order to support a UE transmitting each of multiple associated PUSCHsor each codeword of non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH todifferent TRPs and/or different antenna panels of a network node, thenew DCI formats for uplink grant, DCI format 0_0A and DCI format 0_1A,can include a modified SRS resource indicator field. The modified SRSresource indicator field can support indication of one or more SRSresources selected from an SRS resource set configured for PUSCHtransmission (i.e. the SRS resource set with the higher layer parameterusage of value ‘codeBook’ or ‘nonCodeBook’) for both codebook based andnon-codebook based PUSCH transmission. The maximum number of SRSresources indicated by the SRS resource indicator can be a UEcapability. For codebook based PUSCH transmission and/or for DCI format0_0A based PUSCH scheduling, each of associated PUSCHs or each codewordof non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH can be associated with oneSRS resource. For non-codebook based PUSCH transmission and/or for DCIformat 0_1A based PUSCH scheduling, each of associated PUSCHs carrying asame TB or each codeword of non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCHcan be associated with one or more SRS resources, where the one or moreSRS resources can be associated with downlink reference signals of asame TRP or a same antenna panel of a network node. Also, oralternately, the one or more SRS resources can be intended to the sameTRP or the same antenna panel of the network node, with a common set ofpower control configuration parameters, e.g. open-loop power controlparameters such as P_o and alpha in TS 38.213 and a common set ofclosed-loop power control adjustment states.

According to a possible embodiment, more than one SRS resource set withthe higher layer parameter usage of value ‘codeBook’ or ‘nonCodeBook’can be configured at a UE for multiple associated PUSCHs or fornon-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH. Each SRS resource set withusage value ‘codeBook’ or ‘nonCodeBook’ can be used for scheduling eachof associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB or each codeword of non-coherentjoint transmission of a PUSCH. The maximum number of SRS resource setscan be a UE capability.

The modified SRS resource indicator can dynamically indicate the numberof associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB (or the number of codewords ofnon-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH), where the number caninclude one associated PUSCH (i.e. the number of associated PUSCHs canbe one, i.e., no TB duplication at each HARQ (re)-transmission stage),which can mean no non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH and/or themodified SRS indicator can dynamically indicate the number of spatiallayers for each of associated PUSCHs (or for each codeword ofnon-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH) for non-codebook basedtransmission. For example, the SRS indicator can indicate the number ofassociated PUSCHs as one or more and can also indicate the number ofspatial layers for each associated PUSCH for non-codebook-basedtransmission. As a further example, as shown in Table 7.3.1.1.2-29Athrough Table X below, one value of the SRS indicator can indicate twotransmission occasions each with one spatial layer, another value canindicate two transmission occasions, one with one spatial layer and theother with two spatial layers, and other values can indicate otherpermutations.

In codebook based PUSCH transmission, DCI format 0_1A can include a setof ‘precoding information and number of layers’ fields, where each fieldcan provide precoding information and can indicate the number of spatiallayers for each of associated PUSCHs or for each codeword ofnon-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH.

Considering that each of associated PUSCHs or each codeword ofnon-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH is potentially intended todifferent TRPs and/or different antenna panels of a network node with aseparate closed-loop power control adjustment state (and/or a separateTransmit Power Control (TPC) accumulation mode {enabled/disabled}), aset of TPC commands can be signaled in DCI format 0_0A and DCI format0_1A, where each TPC command can be applicable to each of associatedPUSCHs or each codeword of non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH.In another embodiment, the same TPC accumulation mode can be applied toall associated PUSCHs or all codewords of non-coherent jointtransmission of a PUSCH.

In case that the number of associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB (or thenumber of codewords of non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH) isdynamically indicated/determined, the payload sizes of DCI format 0_0Aand DCI format 0_1A can be determined based on the maximum supportednumber of associated PUSCHs (or the maximum supported number ofcodewords of non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH). If the numberof information bits in the DCI format 0_0A (or DCI format 0_1A) prior topadding is less than the determined payload size of the DCI format 0_0A(or DCI format 0_1A) monitored in a UE specific search space, zeros canbe appended until the number of information bits equals the determinedpayload size. Alternatively, the number of associated PUSCHs carrying asame TB (or the number of codewords of non-coherent joint transmissionof a PUSCH) can be indicated by a MAC CE command, a fixed number of bitscan be allocated to the corresponding field in DCI, and the UE caninterpret the codepoints of the DCI field according to the MAC CEcommand. For example, MAC CE command can indicate 2 and 4, and a one-bitfield in DCI can indicate ‘2’ or ‘4’ as the number of associated PUSCHscarrying a same TB (or the number of codewords of non-coherent jointtransmission of a PUSCH).

For example, DCI format 0_0A with Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)scrambled by Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI),Configured Scheduling (CS)-RNTI, Modulation Coding Scheme (MCS)-C-RNTI,or newly defined X-RNTI (which can be used for the newly defined DCIformats carrying scheduling information of multiple associated PUSCHsand/or non-coherent joint transmission) to schedule multiple associatedsingle-antenna port PUSCHs carrying a same TB or to schedulenon-coherent joint uplink transmission with multiple codewords in aPUSCH (where each codeword is associated with a single spatial layer,i.e. a single antenna port) can be defined as follows:

DCI format 0_0A can include an identifier for DCI formats, which can be1 bit. The value of this bit field can always be set to 0, which canindicate an UL DCI format.

DCI format 0_0A can include a Transmission mode, which can be 1 bit,where 0 can indicates non-coherent joint transmission for a PUSCH, and 1can indicate multiple associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB. If DCIformat 0_0A is used only for multiple associated PUSCHs or only fornon-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH, this field may not exist.

DCI format 0_0A can include a Modified SRS resource indicator, which canbe

${\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{m\; i\; n{\{{A_{m\;{ax}},N_{SRS}}\}}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\k\end{pmatrix}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}\mspace{14mu}{or}\mspace{14mu}\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( \begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\A\end{pmatrix} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}},$

where N_(SRS) can be the number of configured SRS resources in the SRSresource set associated with the higher layer parameter usage of value‘codeBook’ or ‘nonCodeBook’. The Modified SRS resource indicator canalso be

$\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{m\; i\; n{\{{A_{m\;{ax}},N_{SRS}}\}}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\k\end{pmatrix}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}$

indicating the selected SRS resources according to Tables7.3.1.1.2-28/29/30/31 (replacing L_(max) with A_(max)) of 3GPP TS 38.212if the number of associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB or the number ofcodewords in a PUSCH for non-coherent joint transmission is dynamicallyindicated, where A_(max) can be the (higher-layer configured ordetermined by MAC CE) supported maximum number of associated PUSCHs fora transport block or the (higher layer configured, determined by MAC CE,or predefined) supported maximum number of codewords in a PUSCH fornon-coherent joint transmission. Some entries of Tables7.3.1.1.2-28/29/30/31 of 3GPP TS 38.212 corresponding to indication ofone SRS resource may not be valid for DCI format 0_0A, if associatedPUSCHs carrying a same TB are supposed to be transmitted with at leasttwo different directions. Alternatively,

$\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{k = 2}^{\min{\{{A_{\max},N_{SRS}}\}}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\k\end{pmatrix}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}$

according to Tables 7.3.1.1.2-29A/30A/31A defined below, if associatedPUSCHs carrying a same TB are transmitted with at least two differentdirections indicated by at least two different SRS resources. In otherimplementations, more than one SRS resource set (i.e. A_(max) SRSresource sets) for multiple associated PUSCHs or for non-coherent jointtransmission in a PUSCH can be configured with the higher layerparameter usage of value ‘codeBook’ or ‘nonCodeBook’, and the modifiedSRS resource indicator can be

${\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{A_{\max}}{\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {N_{j,{SRS}} + 1} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{11mu}{bits}}},$

where N_(j,SRS) can be the number of configured SRS resources in the SRSresource set j with the higher layer parameter usage of value ‘codeBook’or ‘nonCodeBook’. In each SRS resource set, either one SRS resource ornone of SRS resources of the SRS resource set can be selected, and agroup of consecutive ┌log₂(N_(j,SRS)+1)┐ field, bits for the bit group jof the where bit grouping starts from the MSB (or LSB) of the field, canindicate a selected SRS resource index from {0, 1, . . . , N_(j,SRS)−1}or a state that none of SRS resources is selected from the SRS resourceset j. Modified SRS resource indicator can also be

$\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( \begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\A\end{pmatrix} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}$

according to Table-X defined below if the number of associated PUSCHscarrying a same transport block or the number of codewords in a PUSCHfor non-coherent joint transmission is higher-layer configured orpredefined, where A can be the number of associated PUSCHs for atransport block or the number of non-coherent joint transmissioncodewords in a PUSCH. In another implementation, more than one SRSresource sets (i.e. A SRS resource sets) for multiple associated PUSCHsor for non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH can be configured withthe higher layer parameter usage of value ‘codeBook’ or ‘nonCodeBook’,and the modified SRS resource indicator can be

${{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{A}\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( N_{\;^{j,{SRS}}} \right)} \right\rceil}\mspace{14mu}{bits}},$

where N_(j,SRS) can be the number of configured SRS resources in the SRSresource set j with the higher layer parameter usage of value ‘codeBook’or ‘nonCodeBook’. In each SRS resource set, one SRS resource can beselected, and a group of consecutive ┌log₂(N_(j,SRS))┐ bits for the bitgroup j of the field, where bit grouping starts from the MSB (or LSB) ofthe field, can indicate a selected SRS resource index from {0, 1, . . ., N_(j,SRS)−1}.

According to a possible embodiment, if the number of associated PUSCHscarrying a same transport block or the number of codewords in a PUSCHfor non-coherent joint transmission is higher-layer configured orpredefined, UE can transmit one PUSCH of multiple associated PUSCHs orone codeword of non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH according tothe spatial relation, if applicable, corresponding to a PUCCH resourcewith the lowest ID within an active UL BWP of a cell, and can transmitthe other PUSCHs of multiple associated PUSCHs or the other codewords ofnon-coherent joint transmission of the PUSCH according to the modifiedSRS resource indicator. In this case, the modified SRS resourceindicator can have

$\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( \begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\{A - 1}\end{pmatrix} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{{bits}.}$

Alternatively, the modified SRS resource indicator can have

${\underset{j = 1}{\sum\limits^{A - 1}}{\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( N_{j,{SRS}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}}},$

if more than one SRS resource sets are configured with the higher layerparameter usage of value ‘codeBook’ or ‘nonCodeBook’.

DCI format 0_0A can include a set of frequency domain resourceassignments or frequency domain resource assignment, which can beA·┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)+1)/2┐ bits or ┌log₂(N_(RB)^(UL,BWP)(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)+1)/2)┐ bits for a single frequency domainresource assignment for multiple associated PUSCHs or for non-coherentjoint transmission in a PUSCH. A can be the number of associated PUSCHsfor a transport block. A UE can determine the value of parameter A fromthe modified SRS resource indicator field, if dynamically indicated.Otherwise, the value of parameter A can be higher-layer configured,determined by MAC CE, or predefined. N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP) can be the size ofthe active UL bandwidth part in case DCI format 0_0 is monitored in theUE specific search space and satisfying: the total number of differentDCI sizes configured to monitor is no more than 4 for the cell and thetotal number of different DCI sizes with C-RNTI configured to monitor isno more than 3 for the cell. Otherwise, N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP) can be the sizeof the initial UL bandwidth part.

For PUSCH hopping with resource allocation type 1, N_(UL_hop) MSB bitscan be used to indicate the frequency offset according to Subclause 6.3of TS 38.214, where N_(UL_hop)=1 if the higher layer parameterfrequencyHoppingOffsetLists contains two offset values and N_(UL_hop)=2if the higher layer parameter frequencyHoppingOffsetLists contains fouroffset values. ┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)+1)/2)┐−N_(UL_hop)bits can provide the frequency domain resource allocation according toSubclause 6.1.2.2.2 of TS 38.214. For non-PUSCH hopping with resourceallocation type 1, ┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)+1)/2)┌ bitscan provide the frequency domain resource allocation according toSubclause 6.1.2.2.2 of TS 38.214.

DCI format 0_0A can include a set of time domain resource assignments ortime domain resource assignments, which can be 4·A bits or 4 bits for asingle time domain resource assignment for multiple associated PUSCHs orfor non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH. Each group of 4consecutive bits can be defined in Subclause 6.1.2.1 of TS 38.214 whereA can be the number of associated PUSCHs for a transport block. A UE candetermine the value of parameter A from the modified SRS resourceindicator field, if dynamically indicated. Otherwise, the value ofparameter A can be higher-layer configured, determined by MAC CE, orpredefined.

DCI format 0_0A can include a frequency hopping flag, which can be 1 bitaccording to Table 7.3.1.1.1-3, as defined in Subclause 6.3 of TS38.214.

For transport block 1, DCI format 0_0A can include a modulation andcoding scheme, which can be 5 bits as defined in Subclause 6.1.4.1 of TS38.214. DCI format 0_0A can include a new data indicator, which can be 1bit. DCI format 0_0A can include can include a redundancy version, whichcan be 2 bits as defined in Table 7.3.1.1.1-2 of TS 38.211.

For transport blocks 2, 3, . . . , and A (which may only be used fornon-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH, reserved or not present forother transmission modes of PUSCH), DCI format 0_0A can include amodulation and coding scheme, which can be 5·(A-1) bits as defined inSubclause 6.1.4.1 of TS 38.214. DCI format 0_0A can include new dataindicator, which can be (A-1) bit. DCI format 0_0A can include aredundancy version, which can be 2·(A-1) bits, as defined in Table7.3.1.1.1-2 of [TS 38.211], where A is the number of codewords ofnon-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH.

DCI format 0_0A can include a HARQ process number, which can be 4 bits.

DCI format 0_0A can include a TPC command for scheduled PUSCH, which canbe 2·A bits, with each 2 bits as defined in Subclause 7.1.1 of TS38.213, where A can be the number of associated PUSCHs for a transportblock or the number of codewords (equivalently, transport blocks) fornon-coherent joint transmission.

DCI format 0_0A can include padding bits, if required.

DCI format 0_0A can include an UL/SUL indicator, which can be 1 bit forUEs configured with Supplementary Uplink (SUL) in the cell as defined inTable 7.3.1.1.1-1 of TS 38.212 and the number of bits for DCI format 1_0before padding can be larger than the number of bits for DCI format 0_0before padding; 0 bit otherwise. The UL/SUL indicator, if present, canbe located in the last bit position of DCI format 0_0, after the paddingbit(s). If the UL/SUL indicator is present in DCI format 0_0 and thehigher layer parameter pusch-Config is not configured on both UL and SULthe UE can ignore the UL/SUL indicator field in DCI format 0_0, and thecorresponding PUSCH scheduled by the DCI format 0_0 can be for the UL orSUL for which high layer parameter pucch-Config is configured. If theUL/SUL indicator is not present in DCI format 0_0, the correspondingPUSCH scheduled by the DCI format 0_0 can be for the UL or SUL for whichhigh layer parameter pucch-Config can be configured.

TABLE 7.3.1.1.2-29A Modified SRI indication for multiple associatedPUSCHs or non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH, A_(max) = 2 Bitfield Bit field mapped to SRI(s), mapped to SRI(s), index N_(SRS) = 3index N_(SRS) = 4 0 0, 1 0 0, 1 1 0, 2 1 0, 2 2 1, 2 2 0, 3 3 Reserved 31, 2 4 1, 3 5 2, 3 6-7 Reserved

TABLE 7.3.1.1.2-30A Modified SRI indication for multiple associatedPUSCHs or non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH, A_(max) = 3 Bitfield Bit field mapped to SRI(s), mapped to SRI(s), index N_(SRS) = 3index N_(SRS) = 4 0 0, 1 0 0, 1 1 0, 2 1 0, 2 2 1, 2 2 0, 3 3 0, 1, 2 31, 2 4 1, 3 5 2, 3 6 0, 1, 2 7 0, 1, 3 8 0, 2, 3 9 1, 2, 3 10-15reserved

TABLE 7.3.1.1.2-31A Modified SRI indication for multiple associatedPUSCHs or non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH, A_(max) = 4 Bitfield Bit field mapped to SRI(s), mapped to SRI(s), index N_(SRS) = 3index N_(SRS) = 4 0 0, 1 0 0, 1 1 0, 2 1 0, 2 2 1, 2 2 0, 3 3 0, 1, 2 31, 2 4 1, 3 5 2, 3 6 0, 1, 2 7 0, 1, 3 8 0, 2, 3 9 1, 2, 3 10 0, 1, 2, 311-15 Reserved

TABLE X Modified SRI indication for multiple associated PUSCHs ornon-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH (the parameter A ishigher-layer configured or predefined) Bit field SRI(s), Bit fieldSRI(s), Bit field SRI(s), mapped N_(SRS) = 3, mapped N_(SRS) = 4, mappedN_(SRS) = 4, to index A = 2 to index A = 2 to index A = 3 0 0, 1 0 0, 10 0, 1, 2 1 0, 2 1 0, 2 1 0, 1, 3 2 1, 2 2 0, 3 2 0, 2, 3 3 reserved 31, 2 3 1, 2, 3 4 1, 3 5 2, 3 6-7 Reserved

In an example, DCI format 0_1A with CRC scrambled by C-RNTI, CS-RNTI,MCS-C-RNTI, or newly defined X-RNTI (which is used for the newly definedDCI formats carrying scheduling information of multiple associatedPUSCHs and/or non-coherent joint transmission and/or is configured for acertain UE type/category and/or has a same or different size compared toother RNTIs such as C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI) to schedule multipleassociated single or multiple-antenna port PUSCHs carrying a same TB orto schedule non-coherent joint uplink transmission with multiplecodewords in a PUSCH (where each codeword is associated with a single ormultiple spatial layer(s)) can be defined as follows:

DCI format 0_1A can include an identifier for DCI formats, which can be1 bit. The value of this bit field can always be set to 0, indicating anUL DCI format.

DCI format 0_1A can include a transmission mode, which can be 1 bit. Avalue of 0 can indicate non-coherent joint transmission for a PUSCH, anda value of 1 can indicate multiple associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB.If DCI format 0_1A is used only for multiple associated PUSCHs or onlyfor non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH, this field may notexist.

DCI format 0_1A can include a modified SRS resource indicator, which canbe

${\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{l = 1}^{L_{\max}}{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{K_{l}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\{k \cdot l}\end{pmatrix}}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}},$

where K₁ can be the largest number satisfying K_(l)·l ≤min{l·A_(max),N_(SRS)}, or

${\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{l = 1}^{L}\begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\{l \cdot A}\end{pmatrix}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}},$

where L can be the largest number satisfying L·A≤min{A·L_(max),N_(SRS)}, where N_(SRS) can be the number of configured SRS resources inthe SRS resource set associated with the higher layer parameter usage ofvalue ‘codeBook’ or ‘nonCodeBook’, ‘A_(max)’ can be the (higher-layerconfigured or determined by MAC CE) supported maximum number ofassociated PUSCHs for a transport block or the (higher layer configured,determined by MAC CE, or predefined) supported maximum number ofcodewords in a PUSCH for non-coherent joint transmission, and L_(max)can be the supported maximum spatial layer per codeword (i.e. TB) fornon-codebook based PUSCH and L_(max)=1 for codebook based PUSCH.

The modified SRS resource indicator can also be

$\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{l = 1}^{L_{\max}}{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{K_{l}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\{k \cdot l}\end{pmatrix}}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{11mu}{bits}$

indicating the number of spatial layers (equivalently, antenna ports)for each of multiple associated PUSCHs (or for each codeword ofnon-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH) and the number of associatedPUSCHs (or the number of codewords for non-coherent joint transmissionof a PUSCH), if the number of associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB orthe number of codewords in a PUSCH for non-coherent joint transmissionis dynamically indicated. Alternatively,

${\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{l = 1}^{L_{\max}}{\sum\limits_{k = 2}^{K_{l}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\{k \cdot l}\end{pmatrix}}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{11mu}{bits}},$

if associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB are transmitted with at leasttwo different directions indicated by at least two different SRSresources. In other implementations, more than one SRS resource set(i.e. A_(max) SRS resource sets) for multiple associated PUSCHs or fornon-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH can be configured with thehigher layer parameter usage of value ‘codeBook’ or ‘nonCodeBook’, andthe modified SRS resource indicator can include

${\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{A_{\max}}{\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {1 + {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{\min{\{{L_{\max},N_{j,{SRS}}}\}}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{j,{SRS}} \\k\end{pmatrix}}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}}},$

where N_(j,SRS) can be the number of configured SRS resources in the SRSresource set j with the higher layer parameter usage of value ‘codeBook’or ‘nonCodeBook’. In each SRS resource set, either one or more SRSresources or none of SRS resources of the SRS resource set can beselected, and a group of consecutive

$\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {1 + {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{\min{\{{L_{\max},N_{j,{SRS}}}\}}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{j,{SRS}} \\k\end{pmatrix}}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}$

for the bit group j of the field, where bit grouping starts from the MSB(or LSB) of the field, can indicate selected one or more SRS resourceindices from {0, 1, . . . , N_(j,SRS)−1} or a state that none of SRSresources is selected from the SRS resource set j

The modified SRS resource indicator can also be

$\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{l = 1}^{L}\begin{pmatrix}N_{SRS} \\{l \cdot A}\end{pmatrix}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}$

if the number of associated PUSCHs carrying a same transport block orthe number of codewords in a PUSCH for non-coherent joint transmissionis higher-layer configured or predefined, where A can be the number ofassociated PUSCHs for a transport block or the number of non-coherentjoint transmission codewords in a PUSCH. In another implementation, morethan one SRS resource set (i.e. A SRS resource sets) for multipleassociated PUSCHs or for non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH canbe configured with the higher layer parameter usage of value ‘codeBook’or ‘nonCodeBook’, and the modified SRS resource indicator can include

${\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{A}{\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{\min{\{{L_{\max},N_{j,{SRS}}}\}}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{j,{SRS}} \\k\end{pmatrix}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}}},$

where N_(j,SRS) can be the number of configured SRS resources in the SRSresource set j with the higher layer parameter usage of value ‘codeBook’or ‘nonCodeBook’. In each SRS resource set one or more SRS resources canbe selected, and a group of consecutive

$\left\lceil {\log_{2}\left( {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{\min{\{{L_{\max},N_{j,{SRS}}}\}}}\begin{pmatrix}N_{j,{SRS}} \\k\end{pmatrix}} \right)} \right\rceil\mspace{14mu}{bits}$

for the bit group j of the field, where bit grouping starts from the MSB(or LSB) of the field, can indicate selected one or more SRS resourceindices from {0, 1, . . . , N_(j,SRS)−1}.

DCI format 0_1A can include a carrier indicator, which can be 0 or 3bits, as defined in Subclause 10.1 of TS 38.213.

DCI format 0_1A can include a UL/SUL indicator, which can be 0 bit forUEs not configured with SUL in the cell or UEs configured with SUL inthe cell but only PUCCH carrier in the cell is configured for PUSCHtransmission; 1 bit for UEs configured with SUL in the cell as definedin Table 7.3.1.1.1-1.

DCI format 0_1A can include a bandwidth part indicator, which can be 0,1 or 2 bits as determined by the number of UL BWPs n_(BWP,RRC)configured by higher layers, excluding the initial UL bandwidth part.The bitwidth for this field can be determined as ┌log₂(n_(BWP))┐ bits,where n_(BWP)=n_(BWP,RRC)+1 if n_(BWP,RRC)≤3, in which case thebandwidth part indicator can be equivalent to the higher layer parameterBWP-Id. Otherwise n_(BWP)=n_(BWP,RRC), in which case the bandwidth partindicator can be defined in Table 7.3.1.1.2-1. If a UE does not supportactive BWP change via DCI, the UE can ignore this bit field.

DCI format 0_1A can include a set of frequency domain resourceassignments or frequency domain resource assignments, which can be A·Ybits or Y bits for a single frequency domain resource assignment formultiple associated PUSCHs or for non-coherent joint transmission in aPUSCH, where A can be the number of associated PUSCHs for a transportblock (UE can determine the value of parameter A from the modified SRSresource indicator field, if dynamically indicated. Otherwise, the valueof parameter A can be higher-layer configured, determined by MAC CE, orpredefined) and Y can be the number of bits for a single frequencydomain resource assignment determined by the following, where N_(RB)^(UL,BWP) is the size of the active UL bandwidth part. Y can be N_(RBG)bits if only resource allocation type 0 is configured, where N_(RBG) isdefined in Subclause 6.1.2.2.1 of TS 38.214. Y can be ┌log₂(N_(RB)^(UL,BWP)(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)+1)/2)┐ bits if only resource allocation type1 is configured, or max(┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)+1)/2)┐,N_(RBG))+1 bits if both resource allocation type 0 and 1 are configured.If both resource allocation type 0 and 1 are configured, the MSB bit canbe used to indicate resource allocation type 0 or resource allocationtype 1, where the bit value of 0 can indicate resource allocation type 0and the bit value of 1 indicates resource allocation type 1.

For resource allocation type 0, the N_(RBG) LSBs can provide theresource allocation as defined in Subclause 6.1.2.2.1 of TS 38.214. Forresource allocation type 1, the ┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)(N_(RB)^(UL,BWP)+1)/2┐ LSBs can provide the resource allocation as follows: ForPUSCH hopping with resource allocation type 1, N_(UL_hop) MSB bits canbe used to indicate the frequency offset according to Subclause 6.3 ofTS 38.214, where N_(UL_hop)=1 if the higher layer parameterfrequencyHoppingOffsetLists contains two offset values and N_(UL_hop)=2if the higher layer parameter frequencyHoppingOffsetLists contains fouroffset values; and ┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)(N_(RB)^(UL,BWP)+1)/2┐−N_(UL_hop) bits can provide the frequency domainresource allocation according to Subclause 6.1.2.2.2 of TS 38.214. Fornon-PUSCH hopping with resource allocation type 1, ┌log₂(N_(RB)^(UL,BWP)(N_(RB) ^(UL,BWP)+1)/2┐ bits can provide the frequency domainresource allocation according to Subclause 6.1.2.2.2 of TS 38.214.

If “Bandwidth part indicator” field indicates a bandwidth part otherthan the active bandwidth part and if both resource allocation type 0and 1 are configured for the indicated bandwidth part, the UE can assumeresource allocation type 0 for the indicated bandwidth part if thebitwidth of the “Frequency domain resource assignment” field of theactive bandwidth part is smaller than the bitwidth of the “Frequencydomain resource assignment” field of the indicated bandwidth part.

DCI format 0_1A can include a set of time domain resource assignments ortime domain resource assignments, which can be A·Z bits or Z bits for asingle time domain resource assignment for multiple associated PUSCHs orfor non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH, where A can be thenumber of associated PUSCHs for a transport block (UE can determine thevalue of parameter A from the modified SRS resource indicator field, ifdynamically indicated. Otherwise, the value of parameter A can behigher-layer configured, determined by MAC CE, or predefined) and Z canbe the number of bits for a single time domain resource assignment, 0,1, 2, 3, or 4 bits as defined in Subclause 6.1.2.1 of TS38.214. Thebitwidth for the parameter Z can be determined as ┌log₂(I)┐ bits, whereI can be the number of entries in the higher layer parameterpusch-TimeDomainAllocationList.

DCI format 0_1A can include a frequency hopping flag, which can be 0 or1 bit. The frequency hopping flag can be 0 bit if only resourceallocation type 0 is configured or if the higher layer parameterfrequencyHopping is not configured. The frequency hopping flag can be 1bit according to Table 7.3.1.1.1-3 otherwise, it can be only applicableto resource allocation type 1, as defined in Subclause 6.3 of TS 38.214.

For transport block 1, DCI format 0_1A can include a modulation andcoding scheme, which can be 5 bits as defined in Subclause 6.1.4.1 of TS38.214; can include a new data indicator, which can be 1 bit; and caninclude a redundancy version, which can be 2 bits as defined in Table7.3.1.1.1-2 of TS 38.212.

For transport blocks 2, 3, . . . , and A (only used for non-coherentjoint transmission in a PUSCH, reserved or not present for othertransmission modes of PUSCH), DCI format 0_1A can include a modulationand coding scheme, which can be 5·(A-1) bits as defined in Subclause6.1.4.1 of TS 38.214; can include a new data indicator, which can be(A-1) bits; and can include a redundancy version, which can be 2·(A-1)bits as defined in Table 7.3.1.1.1-2 of TS 38.212.

DCI format 0_1A can include a HARQ process number, which can be 4 bits.

DCI format 0_1A can include 1^(st) downlink assignment index, which canbe 1 or 2 bits. The 1^(st) downlink assignment index can be 1 bit forsemi-static HARQ-ACK codebook. The 1^(st) downlink assignment index canbe 2 bits for dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook.

DCI format 0_1A can include 2^(nd) downlink assignment index, which canbe 0 or 2 bits. The 2^(nd) downlink assignment index can be 2 bits fordynamic HARQ-ACK codebook with two HARQ-ACK sub-codebooks. 2^(nd)downlink assignment index can be 0 bits otherwise.

DCI format 0_1A can include a set of TPC command for associated PUSCHsor non-coherent joint transmission PUSCH, which can be 2.A bits asdefined in Subclause 7.1.1 of TS38.213, where A can be the number ofassociated PUSCHs for a transport block or the number of codewords(equivalently, transport blocks) for non-coherent joint transmission.

DCI format 0_1A can include a set of precoding information and number oflayers, where the number of bits for each of associated PUSCHs or foreach codeword of non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH, determinedby the following: 0 bits if the higher layer parametertxConfig=nonCodeBook; 0 bits for 1 antenna port and if the higher layerparameter txConfig=codebook; 4, 5, or 6 bits according to Table7.3.1.1.2-2 of TS 38.212 for 4 antenna ports, if txConfig=codebook, andaccording to whether transform precoder is enabled or disabled, and thevalues of higher layer parameters maxRank, and codebookSubset; 2, 4, or5 bits according to Table 7.3.1.1.2-3 of TS 38.212 for 4 antenna ports,if txConfig=codebook, and according to whether transform precoder isenabled or disabled, and the values of higher layer parameters maxRank,and codebookSubset; 2 or 4 bits according to Table7.3.1.1.2-4 of TS38.212 for 2 antenna ports, if txConfig=codebook, and according towhether transform precoder is enabled or disabled, and the values ofhigher layer parameters maxRank and codebookSubset; or 1 or 3 bitsaccording to Table7.3.1.1.2-5 of TS 38.212 for 2 antenna ports, iftxConfig=codebook, and according to whether transform precoder isenabled or disabled, and the values of higher layer parameters maxRankand codebookSubset.

DCI format 0_1A can include a set of antenna ports information, wherethe number of bits for each of associated PUSCHs or for each codeword ofnon-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH, determined by the following:2 bits as defined by Tables 7.3.1.1.2-6 of TS 38.212, if transformprecoder is enabled, dmrs-Type=1, and maxLength=1; 4 bits as defined byTables 7.3.1.1.2-7 of TS 38.212, if transform precoder is enabled,dmrs-Type=1, and maxLength=2; 3 bits as defined by Tables7.3.1.1.2-8/9/10/11 of TS 38.212, if transform precoder is disabled,dmrs-Type=1, and maxLength=1, and the value of rank is determinedaccording to the SRS resource indicator field if the higher layerparameter txConfig nonCodebook and according to the Precodinginformation and number of layers field if the higher layer parametertxConfig=codebook; 4 bits as defined by Tables 7.3.1.1.2-12/13/14/15 ofTS 38.212, if transform precoder is disabled, dmrs-Type=1, andmaxLength=2, and the value of rank is determined according to the SRSresource indicator field if the higher layer parameter txConfignonCodebook and according to the Precoding information and number oflayers field if the higher layer parameter txConfig codebook; 4 bits asdefined by Tables 7.3.1.1.2-16/17/18/19 of TS 38.212, if transformprecoder is disabled, dmrs-Type=2, and maxLength=1, and the value ofrank is determined according to the SRS resource indicator field if thehigher layer parameter txConfig=nonCodebook and according to thePrecoding information and number of layers field if the higher layerparameter txConfig codebook; or 5 bits as defined by Tables7.3.1.1.2-20/21/22/23 of TS 38.212, if transform precoder is disabled,dmrs-Type=2, and maxLength=2, and the value of rank is determinedaccording to the SRS resource indicator field if the higher layerparameter txConfig nonCodebook and according to the Precodinginformation and number of layers field if the higher layer parametertxConfig codebook. The number of Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) groupswithout data of values 1, 2, and 3 in Tables 7.3.1.1.2-6 to 7.3.1.1.2-23in TS 38.212 can refer to CDM groups {0}, {0, 1}, and {0, 1, 2}respectively. If a UE is configured with bothdmrs-UphnkForPUSCH-MappingTypeA and dmrs-UphnkForPUSCH-MappingTypeB, thebitwidth of this field can equal max {x_(A), x_(B)}, where x_(A) can bethe “Antenna ports” bitwidth derived according todmrs-UphnkForPUSCH-MappingTypeA and x_(B) can be the “Antenna ports”bitwidth derived according to dmrs-UphnkForPUSCH-MappingTypeB. A numberof |x_(A)-x_(B)| zeros can be padded in the MSB of this field, if themapping type of the PUSCH corresponds to the smaller value of x_(A) andx_(B).

DCI format 0_1A can include SRS request, which can be 2 bits as definedby Table 7.3.1.1.2-24 of TS 38.212 for UEs not configured with SUL inthe cell; 3 bits for UEs configured SUL in the cell where the first bitcan be the non-SUL/SUL indicator as defined in Table 7.3.1.1.1-1 and thesecond and third bits can be defined by Table 7.3.1.1.2-24. This bitfield can also indicate the associated CSI-RS according to Subclause6.1.1.2 of TS 38.214. With an increase of number of simultaneouslyoperating UE antenna panels and/or TRP/gNB antenna panels, the bit widthof this field can increase to accommodate a larger number of triggeringscenarios of aperiodic SRS resource sets.

DCI format 0_1A can include a CSI request, which can be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4,5, or 6 bits determined by higher layer parameter reportTriggerSize

DCI format 0_1A can include Code Block Group (CBG) TransmissionInformation (CBGTI), which can be 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 bits determined byhigher layer parameter maxCodeBlockGroupsPerTransportBlock for PUSCH.

DCI format 0_1A can include Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS)-DMRSassociation, where the number of bits determined as follows: 0 bit ifPTRS-UplinkConfig is not configured and transform precoder is disabled,or if transform precoder is enabled, or if maxRank=1; or 2 bitsotherwise, where Table 7.3.1.1.2-25 and 7.3.1.1.2-26 in TS 38.212 can beused to indicate the association between PTRS port(s) and DMRS port(s)for transmission of one PTRS port and two PTRS ports respectively, andthe DMRS ports are indicated by the Antenna ports field. If “Bandwidthpart indicator” field indicates a bandwidth part other than the activebandwidth part and the “PTRS-DMRS association” field is present for theindicated bandwidth part but not present for the active bandwidth part,the UE can assume the “PTRS-DMRS association” field may not be presentfor the indicated bandwidth part.

DCI format 0_1A can include a beta_ffset indicator, which can be 0 ifthe higher layer parameter betaOffsets=semiStatic; otherwise 2 bits asdefined by Table 9.3-3 in TS 38.213.

DCI format 0_1A can include a DMRS sequence initialization, which can be0 bit if the higher layer parameter transform precoder is enabled; or 1bit if the higher layer parameter transform precoder is disabled.

DCI format 0_1A can include a UL-Shared Channel (SCH) indicator, whichcan be 1 bit. A value of “1” can indicate UL-SCH shall be transmitted onthe PUSCH and a value of “0” can indicate UL-SCH shall not betransmitted on the PUSCH. A UE may not be expected to receive a DCIformat 0_1 with UL-SCH indicator of “0” and CSI request of all zero(s).

Since the above examples of DCI format 0_0A and DCI format 0_1A can alsobe used to schedule PUSCH without non-coherent joint transmission or onePUSCH without UL TB duplication at each HARQ transmission stage, the UEcan be configured to monitor either DCI format 0_0 or DCI format 0_0Aand/or either DCI format 0_1 or DCI format 0_1A in a given UE-specificsearch space. In a common search space, the UE can be configured tomonitor both DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 0_0A to receive common PDCCHsbased on DCI format 0_0.

According to another possible embodiment, a UE can be configured withmultiple values for the higher layer parameter PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfoof 3GPP TS 38.331, and can receive a PUCCH spatial relationactivation/deactivation MAC CE command, which can activate one or morespatial settings for PUCCH transmission. For DCI format 0_0A, themodified SRS resource indicator field may not exist. Instead, the UE canidentify the number of associated PUSCHs (or the number of codewords ofnon-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH) and spatial settings ofmultiple associated PUSCHs (or spatial settings of multiple codewords ofnon-coherent joint transmission of the PUSCH) based on the number ofactivated spatial settings and corresponding activated spatial settingsfor PUCCH transmission.

At least some embodiments can provide for configured grant-based uplinktransmission. For example, according to 3GPP TS 38.214, PUSCHtransmission(s) can be semi-statically configured to operate accordingto Subclause 6.1.2.3 of TS 38.214 and according to Subclause 5.8.2 of TS38.321 upon the reception of higher layer parameter ofconfiguredGrantConfig including rrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant without thedetection of an UL grant in a DCI, or configurdGrantConfig not includingrrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant semi-persistently scheduled by an UL grant ina DCI after the reception of higher layer parameter configurdGrantConfignot including rrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant.

For configured grant TypelA PUSCH transmission, where a UE transmitsmultiple associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB on semi-staticallyconfigured multiple time and frequency resources, the radio resourcecontrol (RRC) parameter rrc-ConfiguredUplinkGrant included inconfiguredGrantConfig can include the higher layer parametertimeDomainAllocation with one or more values andfrequencyDomainAllocation with one or more values with one-to-one,one-to-many, or many-to-one mapping between values fortimeDomainAllocation and values for frequencyDomainAllocation. Themodulation and coding scheme index, I_(MCS), can be provided by higherlayer parameter mcsAndTBS. The number of DMRS CDM groups, DMRS ports,modified SRS resource indication, and DM-RS sequence initialization canbe determined as in DCI format 0_1A described above, and the antennaport value, the bit value for DMRS sequence initialization, precodinginformation and number of layers, modified SRS resource indicator can beprovided by antennaPort, dmrs-SeqInitialization,precodingAndNumberOfLayers, and srs-ResourceIndicatorModifiedrespectively. When frequency hopping is enabled, the frequency offsetbetween two frequency hops can be configured by higher layer parameterfrequencyHoppingOffset.

For configured grant Type 2A PUSCH transmissions, where a UE transmitsmultiple associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB on semi-persistentlyscheduled multiple time and frequency resources, the resource allocationcan follow the higher layer configuration according to TS 38.321, and ULgrant received on the DCI with DCI format 0_0A or DCI format 0_1Adescribed above.

At least some embodiments can provide for transform precoding in PUSCH.For example, a UE can assume that transform precoding (i.e. DiscreteFourier Transform (DFT)-spreading before Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) modulation) is disabled when receiving DCIscheduling multiple PUSCHs carrying the same TB or receiving DCIscheduling non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH. That is, even ifthe UE is higher-layer configured with ‘transform precoding=enabled’,the UE can ignore the RRC configuration for transform precoding inPUSCH, for non-coherent joint transmission of a PUSCH or for multipleassociated PUSCHs. Transform precoding applied in uplink waveform, suchas DFT-spread OFDM, can cause additional inter-symbol interferencecompared to OFDM waveform. It is likely that UE scheduled withnon-coherent joint transmission is not transmit-power limited andinter-symbol interference caused by transform precoding may not bedesirable for multi-layer and/or multi-codeword transmission. Formultiple associated PUSCH transmissions to different TRPs, effectivereceived signal power can be improved by combining multiple receivedsignals of multiple reception points. Thus, transform precoding can bedisabled for multiple associated PUSCHs.

According to a possible embodiment, the PDCCH scheduling PDSCH caninclude a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) for determiningPDSCH antenna port quasi co-location. The TCI can indicate one of thehigher layer TCI-State configurations (down-selected by a MAC CE TCIstate activation command) in the scheduled component carrier or DL BWPconfiguring a quasi-co-location relationship between one or morereference downlink reference signals and the DMRS ports of the PDSCH.The quasi co-location types can take one of the following values:‘QCL-TypeA’: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delayspread}; ‘QCL-TypeB’: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}; ‘QCL-TypeC’:{Doppler shift, average delay}; or ‘QCL-TypeD’: {Spatial Rx parameter}.

For a first PDSCH (e.g., in case of multiple associated PDSCH), or afirst codeword or first set of layers (e.g., in case of non-coherentjoint transmission in PDSCH), the DCI can indicate a first TCI state forPDSCH antenna port quasi co-location associated with the first PDSCH ora first codeword or first set of layers, and for a second PDSCH or asecond codeword or second set of layers, the DCI can indicate a secondTCI state for PDSCH antenna port quasi co-location associated with thesecond PDSCH or a second codeword or second set of layers. According toa possible implementation, the first TCI state and second TCI state canbe jointly coded. According to a possible implementation, the UE can beconfigured with a first set of TCI states, and a second set of TCIstates by higher layer signaling. The signaling can include reception ofan activation command to map a subset of first set of TCI states, andsecond subset of TCI states to codepoints of the DCI field ‘TransmissionConfiguration Indication’. The TCI codepoint in DCI thus can indicatetwo TCI states: a first TCI state from the first set of TCI states whichindicates the PDSCH antenna port quasi co-location for a first PDSCH(e.g., in case of multiple associated PDSCH), or a first codeword orfirst set of layers (e.g., in case of non-coherent joint transmission inPDSCH), and a second TCI state from the second set of TCI states whichcan indicate the PDSCH antenna port quasi co-location for a second PDSCH(e.g., in case of multiple associated PDSCH), or a second codeword orsecond set of layers (e.g., in case of non-coherent joint transmissionin PDSCH). The UE can be indicated a first antenna port group associatedwith the first PDSCH or a first codeword or first set of layers, and asecond antenna port group associated with the second PDSCH or a secondcodeword or second set of layers. The UE can assume the same HARQprocess number for the first PDSCH and second PDSCH. The UE can beindicated a first rate matching indicator associated with the firstPDSCH or a first codeword or first set of layers, and a second ratematching indicator associated with the second PDSCH or a second codewordor second set of layers. The indicators can be separate fields in theDCI or jointly coded with a codepoint of the rate matching indicatorindicating the tuple {first rate matching indication, second ratematching indication}. Similarly, a code point of antenna port indicatorcan indicate the tuple {first antenna port group, second antenna portgroup}.

At least some embodiments can provide for an enhanced beam failurerecovery procedure. For example, in multi-beam based UE and networkoperation, if current serving beam(s)' quality of a UE improves whilethe UE is performing a Beam Failure Recovery (BFR) procedure (i.e. UEhas transmitted at least one Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)preamble for beam failure recovery request), it was not clear whether,how, and when the UE stops the on-going BFR procedure. If the UE did notstop BFR and if the RACH procedure for BFR fails (e.g. due to suddenlink quality degradation of newly selected beams or due to preamblecollision and/or failure of contention resolution), the UE went intoRadio Link Failure (RLF) even though the current serving beam(s)'quality does not lead to RLF.

According to a possible embodiment, a UE can terminate an on-going beamfailure recovery procedure with a MAC layer considering the RandomAccess procedure successfully completed and by a physical layer notre-transmitting a PRACH preamble, if one or more of the followingconditions are met: the UE selects a contention-based PRACH resource(s)according to Section 5.1.2 of TS 38.321, and (Reference Signal ReceivedQuality (RSRP)) measurement value(s) of Synchronization Signal/PhysicalBroadcast Channel (SS/PBCH) block(s) or Channel StateInformation-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resource(s) associated with thecurrent serving beam(s) is above the configured threshold value; aphysical layer of the UE does not indicate beam failure detection to ahigher layer for a certain time period; and/or the UE successfullyreceives PDCCH in previously configured Control Resource Set(s)(CORESET(s)) associated with the current serving beam(s).

According to another possible embodiment, after a UE initiates BFR, atarget Block Error Rate (BLER) for beam failure detection can be set tobe lower than the case that UE does not perform BFR procedure. Forexample, with on-going BFR procedure, the UE can declare beam failuredetection if the assessed hypothetical BLERs for all serving beams areabove 5% BLER, while without on-going BFR procedure, UE can declare beamfailure detection if the assessed hypothetical BLERs for all servingbeams are above 10% BLER.

At least some embodiments can provide for resource allocation andscheduling in high frequency bands, such as millimeter wave bands. Forexample, in high frequency bands, such as frequency region 2 of 3GPP TS38.101-2, analog beamforming and a limited number of Radio Frequency(RF) chains at a network entity can limit the number of UEs multiplexedin the frequency domain within a given OFDM symbol. To elaborate, theentire or significant portion of a channel bandwidth can be assigned toone or a few UEs, and non-slot based PUSCH/PDSCH transmission can allowmultiplexing of different UEs in the time domain, such as by assigningdifferent sets of symbols within a slot to different UEs. According to3GPP TS38.214, Resource Allocation (RA) type 0 is Resource Block Group(RBG)-based bitmap with RBG granularity. RA type 1 is ResourceIndication Value (RIV) based contiguous Virtual Resource Block (VRB)allocation with Resource Block (RB) granularity (except for some specialcases when DCI format 1 is monitored in UE-specific Search Space).

According to a possible embodiment, to restrict PDSCH (or PUSCH)frequency resource allocation to bandwidths larger than a thresholdvalue, one option can be to configure the UE to assume certain patternsof the RBG bitmap/RIV values are valid with existing DCI formats and usethis information to detect inconsistent control information and improvePDCCH decoding performance.

According to another possible embodiment, a network entity can configurea UE with an RBG configuration with larger RBG sizes, where anadditional RBG size configuration with larger RBG sizes can bepre-defined. In RA type 1, such as contiguous VRB allocation, theallowed number of RBs and the starting VRB can be multiples of the RBGsize. Additional RBG sizes can be specified, such as in, for example,Table 5.1.2.2.1-1.

TABLE 5.1.2.2.1-1 Nominal RBG size P Bandwidth Part Size Configuration 1Configuration 2 Configuration 3  1-36 2 4 9 37-72 4 8 18  73-144 8 16 36145-275 16 16 68

FIG. 2 is an example flowchart 200 illustrating the operation of awireless communication device, such as the UE 110, according to apossible embodiment. At 210, configuration information of a PDCCH searchspace can be received. The configuration information can identify whichDCI format to monitor in the PDCCH search space, as well as otherinformation, such as which aggregation level to monitor, how manycandidates to monitor, where the search space is located, and otherinformation. The PDCCH search space can be associated with a DCI format.According to a possible implementation, the DCI format can be a firstDCI format and the PDCCH search space may not be associated with asecond DCI format that indicates only a single transmission in aphysical shared channel.

DCI of the DCI format can dynamically indicate a transmission mode of aplurality of transmission modes. For example, the DCI format can includea bit field indicating the transmission mode. As a further example, theDCI format can include a one-bit transmission mode field, where a valueof zero can indicate non-coherent joint transmission for a PUSCH, and avalue of one can indicate multiple associated PUSCHs carrying a same TB.If DCI format 0_1A is used only for multiple associated PUSCHs or onlyfor non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH, this field may notexist. An SRI can indicate other possible transmission modes. Accordingto a possible implementation, the DCI format can include information ofa number of multiple associated physical shared channels and a number ofspatial layers for each of the multiple associated physical sharedchannels. The bit field can be a modified SRI. According to a possibleimplementation, the DCI format can include information of a number ofindependently precoded subsets of spatial layers of non-coherent jointtransmission in a physical shared channel and a number of spatial layersfor each independently precoded subset of spatial layers of thenon-coherent joint transmission in the physical shared channel.

The plurality of transmission modes can include at least transmission ofmultiple associated physical shared channels and can includenon-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel. A physicalshared channel can be a PUSCH, a PDSCH, and/or any other physical sharedchannel. Transmission of multiple associated physical shared channelscan include transmitting a same transport block on each of multiplephysical shared channels. Non-coherent joint transmission in a physicalshared channel can include transmitting multiple spatial layers in thephysical shared channel. The multiple spatial layers can include aplurality of subsets of spatial layers and each of the plurality ofsubsets of spatial layers can be precoded independently from the othersubsets of spatial layers. Multiple codewords can also be transmitted inthe physical shared channel. Each codeword of the multiple codewords inthe PUSCH can be precoded independently from the other codewords of themultiple codewords in the PUSCH. Each codeword can be associated with adifferent transport block. For non-coherent joint transmission, it canbe assumed that the network does not make use of detailed channelknowledge in the joint transmission.

At 220, a downlink signal can be received at a monitoring occasion ofthe PDCCH search space. The received downlink signal can be at least oneCORESET, such as at least one Control Channel Element (CCE). The PDCCHcandidate can be decoded based on a size of the DCI format. The PDCCHcandidate can include the received at least one CCE and at least oneaggregation level.

At 230, a PDCCH candidate can be decoded according to the DCI format byusing the received downlink signal. At 240, a transmission mode can bedetermined from the decoded PDCCH candidate. According to a possibleimplementation, the plurality of transmission modes can also includesingle transmission in a physical shared channel and the transmissionmode can be determined to be the single transmission in a physicalshared channel based on a number of multiple associated physical sharedchannels being indicated as one or based on a number of independentlyprecoded subsets of spatial layers of non-coherent joint transmission ina physical shared channel being indicated as one.

At 250, user data can be communicated via at least one physical sharedchannel according to the determined transmission mode. According to apossible implementation, communicating user data can includetransmitting at least one PUSCH. For example, a PUSCH transmission canoccur in a transmission occasion. Different PUSCH, and thus, differenttransmission occasions can be transmitted at different times, can betransmitted in different frequencies, can be transmitted at the sametime in the same frequency but in different spatial transmissions,and/or can be otherwise transmitted differently. According to anotherpossible implementation, communicating user data can include receivingat least one PDSCH.

According to possible implementation, at least one PUCCH spatial settingcan be received in a PUCCH spatial relation information configuration. AMAC CE can be received that indicates at least one active PUCCH spatialsetting selected from the at least one PUCCH spatial setting. A numberof active PUCCH spatial settings can be determined based on the receivedMAC CE. If the transmission mode is transmission of multiple associatedPUSCHs, a number of multiple associated PUSCHs can be determined basedon the determined number of active PUCCH spatial settings and spatialsettings of the multiple associated PUSCHs can be determined based onthe active PUCCH spatial settings indicated in the received MAC CE. Ifthe transmission mode is non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH, anumber of multiple independently precoded subsets of spatial layers ofnon-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH can be determined based onthe determined number of active PUCCH spatial settings and spatialsettings of the multiple independently precoded subsets of spatiallayers of non-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH can be determinedbased on the active PUCCH spatial settings indicated in the received MACCE.

According to another possible implementation, a first spatial relationsetting for a PUCCH can be received. A second spatial relation settingcan also be received. User data can be communicated by transmitting afirst transmission corresponding to the determined transmission modebased on the first spatial relation setting and by transmitting a secondtransmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based onthe second spatial setting. The second spatial relation setting can be areference spatial relation setting.

According to another possible implementation, a plurality of TCI-stateconfigurations can be received. An indication of a first and secondTCI-states can be received in the DCI. User data can be communicated byreceiving a first transmission corresponding to the determinedtransmission mode based on the first TCI-state and by receiving a secondtransmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based onthe second TCI-state. According to another possible implementation, aMAC CE can be received. The MAC CE can indicate at least one activeTCI-state of the plurality of configured TCI-states. The first andsecond TCI-states can be selected from the at least one active TCIstate.

According to a possible example, the multiple associated physical sharedchannels can be multiple associated PDSCHs, the first transmission canbe a first PDSCH of the multiple associated PDSCHs and the secondtransmission can be a second PDSCH of the multiple associated PDSCHs.According to another possible example, the physical shared channel canbe a PDSCH, the first transmission can be a first codeword of thenon-coherent joint transmission in the PDSCH, and the secondtransmission can be a second codeword of the non-coherent jointtransmission in the PDSCH. According to another possible example, thephysical shared channel can be a PDSCH, the first transmission can be afirst set of layers of a codeword of the non-coherent joint transmissionin the PDSCH, and the second transmission can be a second set of layersof the codeword of the non-coherent joint transmission in the PDSCH.

According to possible embodiments, multiple associated PUSCH can bemultiple associated transmission occasions. For example, a PUSCH can bea transmission occasion. Transmission occasions can be transmitted atdifferent times and/or at the same time and frequency, but on differentbeams. Data associated with a TB can be transmitted on a PUSCH.

FIG. 3 is an example flowchart 300 illustrating the operation of awireless communication device, such as the network entity 120, accordingto a possible embodiment. At 310, configuration information of a PDCCHsearch space can be transmitted. The PDCCH search space can beassociated with a DCI format. DCI of the DCI format can dynamicallyindicate a transmission mode of a plurality of transmission modes. Theplurality of transmission modes can include at least transmission ofmultiple associated physical shared channels and non-coherent jointtransmission in a physical shared channel. At 320, a PDCCH candidate canbe transmitted at a monitoring occasion of the PDCCH search space. ThePDCCH candidate can include the DCI. At 330, user data can becommunicated via at least one physical shared channel according to thetransmission mode indicated by the DCI included in the PDCCH candidate.According to other possible implementations, other signals can betransmitted to and received from a UE as described in other embodimentsand the signals can be otherwise processed.

According to a possible embodiment, the DCI format can include a bitfield indicating the transmission mode. According to a possibleembodiment, transmission of multiple associated physical shared channelscan include transmission of a same transport block on each of multiplephysical shared channels. According to a possible embodiment,non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel can includetransmission of multiple spatial layers in the physical shared channel.The multiple spatial layers can include a plurality of subsets ofspatial layers and each of the plurality of subsets of spatial layers isprecoded independently from the other subsets of spatial layers.According to a possible embodiment, the DCI format can be a first DCIformat and the PDCCH search space may not be associated with a secondDCI format that indicates only a single transmission in a physicalshared channel. According to a possible embodiment, the DCI format caninclude information of a number of multiple associated physical sharedchannels and a number of spatial layers for each of the multipleassociated physical shared channels.

According to a possible embodiment, the plurality of transmission modescan include single transmission in a physical shared channel. Accordingto a possible implementation, the transmission mode can be determined tobe the single transmission in a physical shared channel based on anumber of multiple associated physical shared channels being indicatedas one or based on a number of independently precoded subsets of spatiallayers of non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channelbeing indicated as one.

According to a possible embodiment, the DCI format can includeinformation of a number of independently precoded subsets of spatiallayers of non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channeland a number of spatial layers for each independently precoded subset ofspatial layers of the non-coherent joint transmission in the physicalshared channel.

According to a possible embodiment, at least one PUCCH spatial settingcan be transmitted in a PUCCH spatial relation information configurationand a MAC CE can be transmitted that indicates at least one active PUCCHspatial setting selected from the at least one PUCCH spatial setting. Anumber of active PUCCH spatial settings for a serving cell of a UE canbe based on the transmitted MAC CE. If the transmission mode istransmission of multiple associated PUSCHs, a number of multipleassociated PUSCHs can be based on the number of active PUCCH spatialsettings, and spatial settings of the multiple associated PUSCHs can bebased on the active PUCCH spatial settings indicated in the transmittedMAC CE. If the transmission mode is non-coherent joint transmission in aPUSCH, a number of independently precoded subsets of spatial layers ofnon-coherent joint transmission in a PUSCH can be based on the number ofactive PUCCH spatial settings, and spatial settings of the independentlyprecoded subsets of spatial layers of non-coherent joint transmission ina PUSCH can be based on the active PUCCH spatial settings indicated inthe transmitted MAC CE.

According to a possible embodiment, a first spatial relation setting fora PUCCH and a second spatial relation setting can be transmitted. Thesecond spatial relation setting can be a reference spatial relationsetting. Communicating can include receiving a first transmissioncorresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the firstspatial relation setting and receiving a second transmissioncorresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the secondspatial setting.

According to a possible embodiment, a plurality of TransmissionConfiguration Indication (TCI)-state configurations can be transmitted.An indication of first and second TCI-states in the DCI can betransmitted. Communicating can include transmitting a first transmissioncorresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the firstTCI-state and transmitting a second transmission corresponding to thedetermined transmission mode based on the second TCI-state. According toa possible implementation, the multiple associated physical sharedchannels can be multiple associated PDSCHs, the first transmission canbe a first PDSCH of the multiple associated PDSCHs and the secondtransmission can be a second PDSCH of the multiple associated PDSCHs.According to a possible implementation, the physical shared channel canbe a PDSCH, the first transmission can be a first codeword of thenon-coherent joint transmission in the PDSCH, and the secondtransmission can be a second codeword of the non-coherent jointtransmission in the PDSCH. According to a possible implementation, thephysical shared channel can be a PDSCH, the first transmission can be afirst set of layers of a codeword of the non-coherent joint transmissionin the PDSCH, and the second transmission can be a second set of layersof the codeword of the non-coherent joint transmission in the PDSCH.

According to a possible embodiment, a MAC CE can be transmitted thatindicates at least one active TCI-state of the plurality of configuredTCI-states. The first and second TCI-states can be selected from the atleast one active TCI state.

It should be understood that, notwithstanding the particular steps asshown in the figures, a variety of additional or different steps can beperformed depending upon the embodiment, and one or more of theparticular steps can be rearranged, repeated or eliminated entirelydepending upon the embodiment. Also, some of the steps performed can berepeated on an ongoing or continuous basis simultaneously while othersteps are performed. Furthermore, different steps can be performed bydifferent elements or in a single element of the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an example block diagram of an apparatus 400, such as the UE110, the network entity 120, or any other wireless communication devicedisclosed herein, according to a possible embodiment. The apparatus 400can include a housing 410, a controller 420 coupled to the housing 410,audio input and output circuitry 430 coupled to the controller 420, adisplay 440 coupled to the controller 420, a memory 450 coupled to thecontroller 420, a user interface 460 coupled to the controller 420, atransceiver 470 coupled to the controller 420, at least one antenna 475coupled to the transceiver 470, and a network interface 480 coupled tothe controller 420. The apparatus 400 may not necessarily include all ofthe illustrated elements for different embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The apparatus 400 can perform the methods described in allthe embodiments.

The display 440 can be a viewfinder, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), aLight Emitting Diode (LED) display, an Organic Light Emitting Diode(OLED) display, a plasma display, a projection display, a touch screen,or any other device that displays information. The transceiver 470 canbe one or more transceivers that can include a transmitter and/or areceiver. The audio input and output circuitry 430 can include amicrophone, a speaker, a transducer, or any other audio input and outputcircuitry. The user interface 460 can include a keypad, a keyboard,buttons, a touch pad, a joystick, a touch screen display, anotheradditional display, or any other device useful for providing aninterface between a user and an electronic device. The network interface480 can be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an Ethernet port, aninfrared transmitter/receiver, an IEEE 1394 port, a wirelesstransceiver, a WLAN transceiver, or any other interface that can connectan apparatus to a network, device, and/or computer and that can transmitand receive data communication signals. The memory 450 can include aRandom-Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (RON), an optical memory,a solid-state memory, a flash memory, a removable memory, a hard drive,a cache, or any other memory that can be coupled to an apparatus.

The apparatus 400 or the controller 420 may implement any operatingsystem, such as Microsoft Windows®, UNIX®, LINUX®, Android™, or anyother operating system. Apparatus operation software may be written inany programming language, such as C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic, forexample. Apparatus software may also run on an application framework,such as, for example, a Java® framework, a .NET® framework, or any otherapplication framework. The software and/or the operating system may bestored in the memory 450, elsewhere on the apparatus 400, in cloudstorage, and/or anywhere else that can store software and/or anoperating system. The apparatus 400 or the controller 420 may also usehardware to implement disclosed operations. For example, the controller420 may be any programmable processor. Furthermore, the controller 420may perform some or all of the disclosed operations. For example, someoperations can be performed using cloud computing and the controller 420may perform other operations. Disclosed embodiments may also beimplemented on a general-purpose or a special purpose computer, aprogrammed microprocessor or microprocessor, peripheral integratedcircuit elements, an application-specific integrated circuit or otherintegrated circuits, hardware/electronic logic circuits, such as adiscrete element circuit, a programmable logic device, such as aprogrammable logic array, field programmable gate-array, or the like. Ingeneral, the controller 420 may be any controller or processor device ordevices capable of operating an apparatus and implementing the disclosedembodiments. Some or all of the additional elements of the apparatus 400can also perform some or all of the operations of the disclosedembodiments.

In operation, the apparatus 400 can perform the methods and operationsof the disclosed embodiments. The transceiver 470 can transmit andreceive signals, including control signals and data signals andincluding information, such as control and data information. Thecontroller 420 can generate and process the transmitted and receivedsignals and information.

According to a possible embodiment in operations as a UE, thetransceiver 470 can receive configuration information of a PDCCH searchspace. The PDCCH search space can be associated with a DCI format. DCIof the DCI format can dynamically indicate a transmission mode of aplurality of transmission modes. The plurality of transmission modes caninclude at least transmission of multiple associated physical sharedchannels and non-coherent joint transmission in a physical sharedchannel. The transceiver 470 can receive a downlink signal at amonitoring occasion of the PDCCH search space. The controller 420 candecode a PDCCH candidate according to the DCI format by using thereceived downlink signal. The controller 420 can determine atransmission mode from the decoded PDCCH candidate. The transceiver 470can communicate user data via at least one physical shared channelaccording to the determined transmission mode.

According to a possible implementation, the transceiver 470 can receivea first spatial relation setting for a PUCCH. The transceiver 470 canreceive a second spatial relation setting. The transceiver 470 cancommunicate user data by transmitting a first transmission correspondingto the determined transmission mode based on the first spatial relationsetting and by transmitting a second transmission corresponding to thedetermined transmission mode based on the second spatial setting. Thesecond spatial relation setting can be a reference spatial relationsetting.

According to a possible implementation, the transceiver 470 can receivea plurality of TCI-state configurations. The transceiver 470 can receivean indication of a first and second TCI-states in the DCI. Thetransceiver 470 can communicate user data by receiving a firsttransmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based onthe first TCI-state and by receiving a second transmission correspondingto the determined transmission mode based on the second TCI-state.

According to a possible implementation, the transceiver 470 can receivea MAC CE that indicates at least one active TCI-state of the pluralityof configured TCI-states. The first and second TCI-states can beselected from the at least one active TCI state.

In operation as a network entity according to a possible embodiment, thecontroller 420 can generate and process signals and otherwise controloperations of the apparatus 400. The transceiver 470 can transmitconfiguration information of a PDCCH search space. The PDCCH searchspace can be associated with a DCI format. DCI of the DCI format candynamically indicate a transmission mode of a plurality of transmissionmodes. The plurality of transmission modes can include at leasttransmission of multiple associated physical shared channels andnon-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel. Thetransceiver 470 can transmit a PDCCH candidate at a monitoring occasionof the PDCCH search space. The PDCCH candidate can include the DCI. Thetransceiver 470 can communicate user data via at least one physicalshared channel according to the transmission mode indicated by the DCIincluded in the PDCCH candidate. The transceiver 470 can also transmitother signals to and receive other signals from a UE and the controller420 can generate and process signals in accordance with otherembodiments.

At least some methods of this disclosure can be implemented on aprogrammed processor. However, the controllers, flowcharts, and modulesmay also be implemented on a general purpose or special purposecomputer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheralintegrated circuit elements, an integrated circuit, a hardwareelectronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, aprogrammable logic device, or the like. In general, any device on whichresides a finite state machine capable of implementing the flowchartsshown in the figures may be used to implement the processor functions ofthis disclosure.

At least some embodiments can improve operation of the discloseddevices. Also, while this disclosure has been described with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in theart. For example, various components of the embodiments may beinterchanged, added, or substituted in the other embodiments. Also, allof the elements of each figure are not necessary for operation of thedisclosed embodiments. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art ofthe disclosed embodiments would be enabled to make and use the teachingsof the disclosure by simply employing the elements of the independentclaims. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure as set forth hereinare intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In this document, relational terms such as “first,” “second,” and thelike may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from anotherentity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actualsuch relationship or order between such entities or actions. The phrase“at least one of,” “at least one selected from the group of” or “atleast one selected from” followed by a list is defined to mean one,some, or all, but not necessarily all of, the elements in the list. Theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” or any other variationthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elementsdoes not include only those elements but may include other elements notexpressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, orapparatus. An element proceeded by “a,” “an,” or the like does not,without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identicalelements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprisesthe element. Also, the term “another” is defined as at least a second ormore. The terms “including,” “having,” and the like, as used herein, aredefined as “comprising.” Furthermore, the background section is writtenas the inventor's own understanding of the context of some embodimentsat the time of filing and includes the inventor's own recognition of anyproblems with existing technologies and/or problems experienced in theinventor's own work.

We claim:
 1. A method at a user equipment, the method comprising:receiving a downlink signal in a physical downlink control channelsearch space; decoding a physical downlink control channel candidateaccording to a downlink control information format based on the receiveddownlink signal, where downlink control information of the downlinkcontrol information format dynamically indicates a transmission mode ofa plurality of transmission modes, and where the plurality oftransmission modes include at least transmission of multiple associatedphysical shared channels and non-coherent joint transmission in aphysical shared channel; determining a transmission mode from thedecoded physical downlink control channel candidate; and communicatinguser data via at least one physical shared channel according to thedetermined transmission mode.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein the downlink control information format includes a bit fieldindicating the transmission mode.
 3. The method according to claim 1,wherein transmission of multiple associated physical shared channelscomprises transmitting a same transport block on each of multiplephysical shared channels.
 4. The method according to claim 1, whereinnon-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel comprisestransmitting multiple spatial layers in the physical shared channel,where the multiple spatial layers comprise a plurality of subsets ofspatial layers and each of the plurality of subsets of spatial layers isprecoded independently from the other subsets of spatial layers.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the downlink control informationformat comprises a first downlink control information format, andwherein the physical downlink control channel search space is notassociated with a second downlink control information format thatindicates only a single transmission in a physical shared channel. 6.The method according to claim 1, wherein the downlink controlinformation format includes information of a number of multipleassociated physical shared channels and a number of spatial layers foreach of the multiple associated physical shared channels.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the plurality of transmission modesinclude single transmission in a physical shared channel.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein determining the transmission modecomprises determining the transmission mode to be the singletransmission in a physical shared channel based on a number of multipleassociated physical shared channels being indicated as one or based on anumber of independently precoded subsets of spatial layers ofnon-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel beingindicated as one.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein thedownlink control information format includes information of a number ofindependently precoded subsets of spatial layers of non-coherent jointtransmission in a physical shared channel and a number of spatial layersfor each independently precoded subset of spatial layers of thenon-coherent joint transmission in the physical shared channel.
 10. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving at least onephysical uplink control channel spatial setting in a physical uplinkcontrol channel spatial relation information configuration; receiving amedium access control control element that indicates at least one activephysical uplink control channel spatial setting selected from the atleast one physical uplink control channel spatial setting; determining anumber of active physical uplink control channel spatial settings basedon the received medium access control control element; if thetransmission mode is transmission of multiple associated physical uplinkshared channels: determining a number of multiple associated physicaluplink shared channels based on the determined number of active physicaluplink control channel spatial settings; and determining spatialsettings of the multiple associated physical uplink shared channelsbased on the active physical uplink control channel spatial settingsindicated in the received medium access control control element; and ifthe transmission mode is non-coherent joint transmission in a physicaluplink shared channel: determining a number of independently precodedsubsets of spatial layers of non-coherent joint transmission in aphysical uplink shared channel based on the determined number of activephysical uplink control channel spatial settings; and determiningspatial settings of the independently precoded subsets of spatial layersof non-coherent joint transmission in a physical uplink shared channelbased on the active physical uplink control channel spatial settingsindicated in the received medium access control control element.
 11. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a firstspatial relation setting for a physical uplink control channel; andreceiving a second spatial relation setting, wherein communicatingcomprises: transmitting a first transmission corresponding to thedetermined transmission mode based on the first spatial relationsetting; and transmitting a second transmission corresponding to thedetermined transmission mode based on the second spatial setting, andwherein the second spatial relation setting is a reference spatialrelation setting.
 12. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a plurality of transmission configurationindication-state configurations; and receiving an indication of a firstand second transmission configuration indication-states in the downlinkcontrol information, wherein communicating comprises: receiving a firsttransmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based onthe first transmission configuration indication-state; and receiving asecond transmission corresponding to the determined transmission modebased on the second transmission configuration indication-state.
 13. Themethod according to claim 12, wherein the multiple associated physicalshared channels are multiple associated physical downlink sharedchannels, wherein the first transmission is a first physical downlinkshared channel of the multiple associated physical downlink sharedchannels, and wherein the second transmission is a second physicaldownlink shared channel of the multiple associated physical downlinkshared channels.
 14. The method according to claim 12, wherein thephysical shared channel is a physical downlink shared channel, whereinthe first transmission is a first codeword of the non-coherent jointtransmission in the physical downlink shared channel, and wherein thesecond transmission is a second codeword of the non-coherent jointtransmission in the physical downlink shared channel.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the physical shared channel is a physicaldownlink shared channel, wherein the first transmission is a first setof layers of a codeword of the non-coherent joint transmission in thephysical downlink shared channel, and wherein the second transmission isa second set of layers of the codeword of the non-coherent jointtransmission in the physical downlink shared channel.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 12, further comprising receiving a medium accesscontrol control element that indicates at least one active transmissionconfiguration indication-state of the plurality of configuredtransmission configuration indication-states, wherein the first andsecond transmission configuration indication-states are selected fromthe at least one active transmission configuration indication state. 17.An apparatus comprising: a transceiver that receives a downlink signalin a physical downlink control channel search space; and a controllercoupled to the transceiver, where the controller decodes a physicaldownlink control channel candidate according to a downlink controlinformation format based on the received downlink signal, where downlinkcontrol information of the downlink control information formatdynamically indicates a transmission mode of a plurality of transmissionmodes, and where the plurality of transmission modes include at least amode for transmission of multiple associated physical shared channelsand a mode for non-coherent joint transmission in a physical sharedchannel, and where the controller determines a transmission mode fromthe decoded physical downlink control channel candidate, wherein thetransceiver communicates user data via at least one physical sharedchannel according to the determined transmission mode.
 18. The apparatusaccording to claim 17, wherein the transceiver receives a first spatialrelation setting for a physical uplink control channel, receives asecond spatial relation setting, and communicates user data bytransmitting a first transmission corresponding to the determinedtransmission mode based on the first spatial relation setting andtransmitting a second transmission corresponding to the determinedtransmission mode based on the second spatial setting, and wherein thesecond spatial relation setting is a reference spatial relation setting.19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the transceiverreceives a plurality of transmission configuration indication-stateconfigurations, receives an indication of a first and secondtransmission configuration indication-states in the downlink controlinformation, and communicates user data by receiving a firsttransmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based onthe first transmission configuration indication-state and receiving asecond transmission corresponding to the determined transmission modebased on the second transmission configuration indication-state.
 20. Amethod at a network entity, the method comprising: transmitting adownlink signal in a physical downlink control channel search space thedownlink signal including a physical downlink control channel candidateincluding downlink control information having a downlink controlinformation format, where the downlink control information dynamicallyindicates a transmission mode of a plurality of transmission modes, andwhere the plurality of transmission modes include at least transmissionof multiple associated physical shared channels and non-coherent jointtransmission in a physical shared channel; and communicating user datavia at least one physical shared channel according to a transmissionmode based on the physical downlink control channel candidate.